Writing, journalism and the revolutionary spirit
One of my favourite essays of all time – insofar as that's a legitimate category – is one called 'How to do what you love' by Paul Graham, the startup guru. In it, he makes a case for the…
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1664 posts
Why do we cover the Nobel Prize announcements?
2 min read
The Nobel Prizes are too big to fail. Even if they've become beset by a host of problems, such as: 1. Long gap between invention/discovery and recognition, 2. A large cash component given to ol…
Chromodynamics: Gluons are just gonzo
6 min read
One of the more fascinating bits of high-energy physics is the branch of physics called quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Don’t let the big name throw you off: it deals with a bunch of elementary particle…
The significance of Cassini's end
3 min read
because I wrote this on The Wire on September 15. I lied. Truth is, I don't care about Saturn. In fact, I'm fascinated with Cassini because of Saturn. We all are. Without Cassini, Saturn woul…
Starless city
Overheard three people in Delhi: When you feel the rain fall, you feel the dirt pouring down on you, muck streaking down your face and clothes. It washes down the haze from the skies and you can fina…
Understanding what '400 years' stands for, through telescopes
2 min read
This is how Leonard Digges described a telescope in 1571: source While it's not clearly known who first invented the telescope – or if such an event even happened – Hans Lippershey is widely cre…
Making sense of quantum annealing
7 min read
One of the tougher things about writing and reading about quantum mechanics is keeping up with how the meaning of some words change as they graduate from being used in the realm of classical mechanics…
Gods of nothing
3 min read
The chances that I'll ever understand Hollywood filmmakers' appetite for films based on ancient mythology is low, and even lower that I'll find a way to explain the shittiness of what thei…
Caste guilt
2 min read
This is the age of the start-up, not megaliths. Remember T-Rex did not survive evolution. It is unlikely that religions organised like T-Rexes – most of the Abrahamic religions fit this description –…
A flood as an opportunity
3 min read
Our preparedness for the effects of climate change is both mitigating global avg. surface temperature rise and better planning public spaces and improving the distribution/accessibility of resources.…
A measure of media trustworthiness
1 min read
A publication online that makes its money by displaying ads can be profitable even by publishing a slew of bad or offensive articles. That will drive the traffic too; people will share its content eve…
Breaking the bargain
1 min read
A nasty review of P.V. Sindhu's performance at the World Badminton Championships by Sandip Sarkar for the Hindustan Times: Take Spain’s Carolina Marin for example. Just two years older than Sindh…